Parents of minor hockey player demand charges after son punched in the head during game

“We know that there is bodychecking and fighting in hockey, but this is an attack,” says player’s mother.

Minor hockey player Nick Major was hit from behind and pummelled by another player during a game in January. His parents are still awaiting the results of a police investigation into the incident but say it was over the top.

The parents of a 16-year-old minor hockey player who was repeatedly punched in the face by a member of the opposing team are demanding criminal charges against the aggressor.

Nick Major, who plays for the Woodstock (Ont.) Jr. Navy Vets, suffered a broken nose and a concussion in the incident, which happened as the third period came to a close during a game on Jan. 13.

“We know that there is bodychecking and fighting in hockey, but this is an attack,” said Julie Major, Nick’s mother. “There is a difference. There was a line overstepped.”

Nick’s team was winning 7-2 against the Brantford 99ers. Leading a breakaway, Nick sped towards the net but lost the puck. He stopped in front of the goalie, spraying ice into his face.

Another player came up and checked Nick from behind. Video recorded by Julie Major appears to show the other player ripping off Nick’s helmet, tossing it aside and pummelling his face. Nick falls to the ice and the other player, with linesmen struggling to restrain him, continues to swing.

Immediately after the game, Julie and her husband Wes forwarded the video to the league and police. The league had initially suspended Nick two games for fighting, but overturned that upon seeing the footage. The boy who punched Nick in the head received a four-game suspension.

Police are still investigating, but Julie said she felt they were of the opinion that injuries happen in the course of a hockey game.

“That’s the opinion of the police that keeps coming into my head — hockey is a grey area,” she said. “I think when it comes to your child not being able to defend himself — he’s on his hands and knees and being thumped in the head 10 times — I do think that there is a difference.”

Police said the investigation has taken some time because they had to track down players from the visiting Brantford team, but they hope to conclude it in the next week.

League officials acknowledge that mistakes were made in handling this situation, but prefer that the matter stay in the rink rather than the courts.

“Our preference would be that these things are dealt with as hockey matters but I also get it that parents, if they feel that there was an assault situation, that they deal with it from that aspect,” said Tony Martindale, executive director of Alliance Hockey.

Martindale said the boy who hit Nick should have received an instigator penalty for starting the fight. Following the boy’s return to play after the game in Woodstock, he received a penalty for checking another player in the head at a Toronto tournament. He was suspended and the league met with his parents. He is now back on the ice.

Martindale says the blame rests in “hockey culture.”

“We have to provide a safe environment for the players and the best way to do that is through coaching. That’s probably the best way to change that culture,” he said. “I think that there’s a lot that the administration of hockey can learn from something like this, that we, that there were some wrongs in the way this was handled.”

But Julie Major insists that incidents like the one involving her son, which she says cross a line, need to be punished in order to prevent future outbursts.

“Obviously we want change so that they can recognize this when it happens and deal with it then, not five months later,” she said. “I think the biggest thing is harsher consequences so that the kids will think twice before doing it.”

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.